Sunday, 19 August 2018

5 Productive Things To Do As A Blogger Instead Of Procrastinating

I've got a feeling that we're all guilty of it; spending precious time procrastinating. Regardless of how long my to-do list is or the amount of work that I've got to do, I'll inevitably find myself endlessly scrolling through the ASOS New In section or taking a Buzzfeed quiz on when I'll meet my soul mate based on my Olive Garden order (yup, I actually took that quiz and about a dozen more this week). Working from home can be even more of a motivation killer and whether you blog as a hobby or as a bit of a side hustle, it can often be tricky to use your time in a positive way instead of doing the above on a bit of a loop.

So here are 5 productive things to do as a blogger instead of procrastinating;

Start or regularly update a content calendar

Ever since I started blogging I've used a content calendar of sorts and what I mean by that is that I try to schedule in what I'd like to blog about and when. Back in the day I used to have a strict 3 posts a week kind of schedule where I would post every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Nowadays I don't put as much pressure on myself but I still quite like to post at least every Sunday and often on Wednesdays too.

Having a content calendar makes it so much easier to schedule in your ideas, make sure not to forget about a specific post or collaboration being posted or even just to give you an overview of what you'd like to see on your blog that month.

Here's the start of my September schedule, with nothing fixed or set in stone;

Some months I know exactly what I'd like to blog about and have definite ideas locked in for most of the month but clearly I'm in the midst of a bit of writer's block at the moment.

Even if you're just signposting what kind of content you'd like to slot in and when, it can be such a big help. Personally, I like to spread out my content a bit so instead of doing 3 beauty based blog posts in a row, I make sure to split them up a bit. Referring to and revising your content calendar on a frequent basis throughout the month, instead of doing something totally unrelated, can definitely be beneficial to you actually getting content out there and giving you a bit of a kick up the backside at the same time. Do you currently use one or would you in the future?

Work on creating Pinterest-ready pins

As a big fan of Pinterest (I'm ellistuesday on there too), I spend at least 10-15 minutes a day pinning, each and every day (let me know if you'd like me to write a blog post on how to reach over 100,000 followers on Pinterest as that's exactly what I've done as a result of following a few rules). I also get a considerable chunk of traffic from it every month so recently I've been making a real effort to create Pinterest friendly pins and what I mean by that is ones that you would instantly click on, that tell you what you're getting in an aesthetically pleasing way, like the one directly above.

I make mine on Canva where they have brilliant templates for any Pinterest pin you could dream of from travel to food, fashion, DIY and more and the best thing is that most of them are completely free to use and just make your photos and blog posts look so professional and Pinterest-y, if that's a word. You get what I mean though, right? Again, let me know if you'd like me to do a blog post on how I actually create and customise them to suit the theme of each blog post. You can also use other free online editing sites or Photoshop if you have it. And you also utilise free stock photos to make your pins look even more profesh! It does take time but I'm hoping that it will be worth it in the long run.

Create captions for Instagram posts in advance

After completely losing a lengthy Instagram caption on more than a few occassions, I've started making a note of most of my captions in advance so that if it does crash or stop working, I can just copy and paste it in again. If you have a plan or calendar for your Instagram posts, something I'm trying to do more and more of, you can write an entire week's worth or bulk write all of your captions ready to be pasted in when you need them.

It doesn't stop you from posting and creating in the moment but just remember to press copy just in case Instagram does go down or crash midway through you posting your latest photo to your feed.

Take your photos in bulk

Speaking of doing things in bulk, getting several blog posts worth of photos taken at once is a game changer and one of the easiest ways to be feel productive for days or weeks at time. If the lighting is good, especially in the run up to the Winter months, take advantage of it!

I used to just take photos as and when I needed them and when you're dragging out backdrops, equipment and bags of products, props, etc. each time, it's an easy way to waste a lot of your precious time. It also means that you can only really plan or schedule one blog post at a time instead of having several ready to go. Having the photos there, ready to be uploaded, can also spur you on to write specific blog posts or give you some much needed inspiration as well.

Clear out your folders

If you're anything like me, you'll no doubt have folders and folders full of blog photographs, edits, social media posts and photos that you've not even got around to using yet. If I'm feeling really lazy or unmotivated, I find that a quick or a lengthy clear out of my folders means that I either get in the groove and get lots of duplicate shots deleted or folders organised or the monotony of that task spurs me on to do something that bit more creative such as drafting up a new blog post.

Seriously, how many folders or photos do you have on your computer or phone at the moment? Let's see who has the highest amount in the comment section below.

So there you have it; 5 of my favourite things to do as a blogger instead of procrastinating.

What do you think of them? Do you currently implement any of them? What's the biggest temptation that has you procrastinating? And would you like to see more of my blogger tips feature on the blog more frequently?

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Ellis Tuesday is a beauty, fashion & lifestyle blog brought to you by Ellis, a self confessed shopaholic from Scotland with an overwhelming stash of beauty products and a love for all things leopard print.